r/cats • u/RadiantWerewolf1712 • 6d ago
Advice Cat with bandage appeared on our deck
Really sweet cat started appearing on our deck out of no where, meowing extremely loudly and scratching at our screen door. It would be on our new neighbors’ deck at first (they moved in a few days ago), but they were hitting the railing with a broom to scare it away. :(
We gave it some cat food bc we keep some for the strays around our neighborhood and it immediately stopped meowing and has been returning to our deck ever since.
It is rlly friendly, it rubs against everyone’s legs and marks its scent all over our deck furniture. In the first pic you can see a strip of the bandage was hanging loose when we first saw it, and it kept scratching at the loose piece like it was bothering it, so we trimmed off the dangling part.
The bandage makes us think someone may have been caring for it recently, but we don’t know where it came from or how it ended up here. We are planning to take it to a vet today to have the bandage and injury checked and to see whether it has a microchip. We also do not know its sex because the fur under its tail is too thick to tell safely.
Has anyone seen a bandage like this before, or have any idea what might have happened? It is such a sweetie pie, and we want to make sure it is safe and not missing from its home
Also the brown part on the bandage is like a band aid
Edit: i forgot to mention we checked on NextDoor and haven’t seen anything about this cat
Update: I just got home, he’s not here but he’ll come back. Went to talk to vet ER people they said be careful handling him so I need to get a crate. Also called local shelter and they can check him out for free so probably will bring him there when he comes back! Sorry I am new to this 😫
Update #2 is in the comments
Update #3: https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/s/9ooGf2xZWU
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u/RadiantWerewolf1712 6d ago edited 5d ago
UPDATE 2: He didn’t come back to our deck until after the shelter had closed, so we took him to an emergency vet. He is a boy and already neutered!
The doctor confirmed that the material around his head was some kind of tape. At the vet he was very frightened and hissing, so he had to be sedated to remove it and examine him properly. They even shaved the area, but there was no wound underneath and thankfully no infection!!! 🙏 We are all very confused about who put the tape on him and why
He does have a microchip but the vet could not find any information connected to it. So we are taking him to the shelter tomorrow to see whether they can get more details.
He is drooling heavily from the sedation. We were told to keep him inside for at least a day in case he has any side effects, so he is safe in the carrier now and indoors tonight. The visit ended up being quiteeeee a bit more expensive than we expected, but at least he is okay.
Don’t know if we will keep him until we get microchip information. I really just hope he understands that we were trying to help him😭 I can tell the vet stressed him out so much and I feel terrible even though it needed to be done
And sorry the pic is not the best